"I Want to Wear a T-Shirt Without an Undershirt"

What this person worried about most before surgery was whether having it would make any visible difference. The longer a problem has been carried, the more natural such doubt becomes.

After finishing surgery and passing through recovery, they wrote that they came to think the worry had been unnecessary. But the degree of change differs with the initial condition and the extent of surgery, and recovery speed varies too. So in consultation I tend to separate what will improve from what will not.

Of their first impression, they wrote that the atmosphere felt refined, and that the counselor had gone over the things they would likely wonder about in advance, which put them at ease.

That is the principle we try to keep. Not waiting for questions, but putting things out first. Someone coming in for the first time often does not even know what to ask. I consider it part of the consultation's work to build the list of questions for you.

Another worry this person left was anesthesia. They wrote that they had been a little worried whether it would work, but once it began they had no memory.

Our surgery is performed under sedation. Because the operation begins after you have fallen asleep, many people do not remember the procedure at all. The surgery itself takes about thirty minutes. The explanation of results is given in the recovery room afterward. Many ask back whether it really finished that quickly; this person was one of them.

Shortening the operating time is not about setting records. The shorter the surgery, the less burden on the patient, so we have kept refining in that direction.

Back to the undershirt.

Among people with gynecomastia, many have spent even summers wearing one extra layer. Compression undershirts, thick T-shirts, dark colors — clothes chosen not because of the heat but to conceal. Wanting to wear just one T-shirt is a story about clothing, and also about wanting to stop running a certain calculation every morning.

This person left the words that deliberation only delays the result. That is their reflection after finishing surgery, and whether to have it is something to decide after confirming your condition through an examination.

But postponing a judgment and not making one are different. Even if you do not reach a decision, it is better to know what your condition is. It might be worth counting how many summers this makes that you have put off that check.